Library of Tibetan Works and Archives
London: Founded in 1994 by the Representative, Kasur Kelsang Yangkyi Takla, Tibet House Trust, a UK registered charity attached to the Office of Tibet, London, is this year celebrating its 25th Founding Anniversary.
In this Anniversary Year, the trustees decided to embark on a Talk Series – which will henceforth be an annual feature –by inviting distinguished Tibetan experts in the field of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy, language, culture, environment etc. to the UK so as to provide its members & the general public with an opportunity to listen to and engage with the experts with the aim of generating more awareness of the issues and more importantly to spur them on to action.
Accordingly, the trustees invited Venerable Geshe Lhakdor, presently heading the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives, who has also served for 16 years as the English Translator to His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and is a distinguished Tibetan expert, to be the first speaker to set the ball rolling for the talk series.
Geshe Lhakdor arrived in the UK on Thursday, 10 October evening and was welcomed by Ms Tsering Tsomo, Secretary, Tibet House Trust. He began his official engagements the very next day with a visit to Samten Kyil, Tibetan Peace Garden, where he was hosted by Tibet Foundation.
Tibet House Trust’s first annual talk series was held on Tuesday, 15 October at the October Gallery, London where Geshe Lhakdor spoke on the theme: Finding Happiness in Difficult Times. He spoke on the same theme to a different audience at the Sky Room in Milton Keynes Gallery (50 miles north-west of London) on Friday, 18th Oct. He also addressed the faculty and students at both prestigious educational institutions: Cambridge on Monday, 14th & Oxford on Wednesday. While he spoke at the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education on Educating the Heart and Mind, he dwelled upon the theme: Introduction to Mahayana Buddhist Philosophy at Oxford University’s Oriental Institute.
Continuing his talk program, Geshe Lhakdor explained Mindfulness and Training of the Mind to a different audience at the premier Buddhist institute in the UK: The Buddhist Society, on Thursday, 17 October.
Considering the interest in environmental issues in the wake of the protests in the city by environmental activists, Geshe Lhakdor spoke on Universal Responsibility and Climate Crisis to mostly group of environmental enthusiasts at The Jamyang Buddhist Centre, London, on Sunday, 13 October.
During his ten-day program here, Geshe Lhakdor visited the London School of Tibetan Language & Culture, the weekend Tibetan language school (only on Sundays) administered by Tibet House Trust, where he observed the four classes in action and also addressed the students, staff and parents on the importance of preservation of Tibetan language and culture.
At the special program for the Tibetan youth, organised jointly by the Office of Tibet & the Youth Coordinator of Tibetan Community in Britain at the Tibet House on Friday, 11th Oct., Geshe Lhakdor explained ‘What makes you a Buddhist’ in simple language, that spurred the audience-including over 25 Tibetan youth-to engage in a lively interaction for more than an hour. Geshe Lhakdor also addressed the larger Tibetan Community in Britain on Saturday, 12 October.
During his time in London, Geshe Lhakdor also visited the British Museum, Royal Geographical Society, Science Museum, Tibet Relief Fund and Free Tibet. While at Oxford he visited the Pitt Rivers Museum where Prof Clare Harris FBA took him on a tour of the museum and explained the arts, objects & ancient photographs displayed there. He also visited the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.
Throughout all his talking engagements on this visit, Venerable Geshe Lhakdor managed to reach out to an audience of more than 500, which whom the Tibet House London will engage within the weeks and months ahead.
The effectiveness of the talk events can be judged from the audience reaction ranging from “Interesting.” “Refreshing.” “Utterly Fascinating.” to “I have been thinking about what he said ever since – wise words indeed.”
-Filed by the Office of Tibet, London
